Continuously variable air deflector

ABSTRACT

In the preferred form, a fluid discharge from an air conditioner is provided with a series of parallel pivoted vanes connected to pivot in unison by a lateral connecting bar. One or two electrically energizable thermally expansible hot resistance wires are connected between the fluid discharge and the connecting bar. These wires are periodically electrically heated by current from the supply circuit which is in series with a periodically opening timing switch.

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[54] CUNTIINUOUSLY VARIABLE AlllR DEFLECTOR [72] Inventor:

[73] Assignee:

James W. Jacobs, Dayton, Ohio General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich.

[221 Filed: July 10,1970

[21] Appl.No.: 53,815

[52] US. Cl ..98/94 [51 lnt. Cl ..lE06b 7/08 [58] Field of Search ..98/94, 99.8, 40 V; 236/68 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,069,524 12/1962 Hanssen ..236/68 UX 3,257,931 6/1966 Lupton ..236/68 X 3,408,506 10/1968 Bergsma 2,800,851 7/1957 Kronrad et al ..98/99.8

Primary Examiner-Edward J. Michael Att0rneyWilliam S. Pettigrew, Frederick M. Ritchie and Edward B. Barthel [57] ABSTRACT In the preferred form, a fluid discharge from an air conditioner is provided with a series of parallelpivoted vanes con nected to pivot in unison-by a lateral connecting bar. One or two electrically energizable thermally expansible hot resistance wires are connected between the fluid discharge and the connecting bar. These wires are periodically electrically heated by current from the supply circuit which is in series with a periodically opening timing switch.

4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures CONTINUOUSLY VARIABLE AIR DEFLECTOR Oscillating fans provide a desirable continuously changing direction of air discharge for comfortable air circulation. In air conditioners and similar air circulating devices it is difficult to incorporate oscillating fans, although this type of air circulation and distribution is desirable.

It is an object of this invention to provide continuously oscillating vanes on an air conditioner through the use of an intermittently heated simple thermal expansion device for continuously oscillating a fluid discharge in a manner similar to an oscillating fan.

It is another object of this invention to continuously oscillate vanes by periodically electrically energizing a thermally expansible hot resistance wire connected to the pivoted vanes.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein preferred embodiments of the present invention are clearly shown.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top view, partly diagrammatic, of a set of pivoted air discharge vanes with an oscillating means embodying one form of my invention;

FIG. 2 is an electrical circuit for an air conditioner embodying the electrical system of FIG. 1 for oscillating the vanes;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic representation of a modified form of the invention including a portion of the electrical system; and

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic representation of the air-tempering refrigerating system and the fans for the air conditioner.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIG. 1, there is illustrated an evaporator discharge plenum 147 of an air conditioner of any suitable type such as that illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 2,945,362 issued July 19, 1960. From this plenum 147 the cooled air is discharged into the room to be cooled. The air is circulated by a fan 90 driven by the fan motor 78. This air is tempered by the evaporator 60 before it flows to the evaporator discharge plenum 147. Liquid refrigerant evaporates in the evaporator 60 and is drawn into the compressor 194 driven by the compressor motor 94. The compressor 194 compresses the evaporated refrigerant and pumps it into the condenser 48 where the refrigerant is liquefied. The liquid refrigerant then flows through the capillary restrictor tube 27 to the evaporator 60.

Located in this plenum are a set of discharge vanes 22 which are pivoted upon pivot pins 23 having upright axes. They may be pivotally connected to the bottom wall 133 and a top wall (not shown) forming the bottom and top of the plenum 147. A longitudinal connecting bar 26 is provided with pivotal connections 24 with the bottoms of the vanes. These pivotal connections are off center and the connecting bar 26 turns the vanes together in unison about their pivot pins 23.

The connecting bar 26 is connected by a tension coil spring 28 to the adjacent sidewall of the plenum chamber 147 to pull the vanes 22 to their counterclockwise position. The connecting bar 26 is provided with a projection 30 provided with an anchoring post about which is looped the midportion of a thermally expansible hot wire actuator 32 which is preferably made of wire having a high-electrical resistance and a relatively high coefficient of expansion such as nickel chromium wire. The opposite ends of this wire 32 are connected to and anchored to the terminals 34 and 36.

In FIG. 2 there is shown an electrical circuit for the air conditioner embodying the oscillating vanes 22 and the hot wire 32. This circuit includes supply conductors 80 and 82 connected to the plug connection 84. The supply conductor 82 is connected to one terminal of the fan motor 78 and one terminal of the compressor motor 94. The other terminals of the compressor motor 94 are connected to the capacitor 95 and to the conductor 96 connecting to the switch terminal 97. The

in unison. In one position, the switch member 88 is adapted to connect with the switch contact 97 to close the circuit to the compressor motor 94 to cause operation of the motor compressor unit. Both switches 86 and 88 are disconnected in the off position. However, in the two operating positions for the switch 86 which connects with the terminals and 87, both of these terminals connect to a bimetal switch 123 a and to a manual shunt switch which shunts the bimetal switch 123. Also connected in parallel with the bimetal switch 123 but in series with each other are a selector switch 121 making contact with any one of three taps of a heater 127 and the hot wire member 32. The shunt switch 125, the bimetal switch 123 and the hot wire 32 have their second terminals connected to the fan motor 78. The selector switch 121 selectively contacts the different taps providing three heating rates for the heater 127 which when energized heats the bimetal switch 123 which is normally open.

When the switch 86 is moved to engage either the contact 85 or the contact 87, the switch 88 will be moved in the corresponding manner to-either of its two lower positions. The engagement of the switch 88 with second contact 97 energizes the motor compressor unit 94. In this position, the switch 86 will contact the switch contact 87. This will connect the selector switch 121 and the bimetal heater 127 and the hot wire 32 in series with the fan motor 78 causing operation of the fan and the heating and expansion of the hot wire 32. This will permit the connecting bar 26 to move from the full line position to the dot-dash line position under the force of the spring 28. This current flow through the hot wire 32 will increase its temperature to its maximum to eventually cause maximum thermal expansion of the hot wire 32 so that the vanes will be turned to their extreme counterclockwise position shown by dot-dash lines in FIG. 1.

When a sufficient current has passed through the heater 127 to heat the bimetal 123 a sufficient amount, the bimetal 123 will move to the closed position. The amount of the heater 127 that is effectively energized by the selector switch 121 determines how quickly the bimetal 123 closes. The closing of the switch 123 shunts and deenergizes the bimetal heater 127 as well as the hot wire 32. This causes a rapid reduction in the heat produced by the heaters 127 and 32 so that hot wire 32 will again contract and move the connecting bar 26 to the left and the vanes 22 to the extreme clockwise position. During this time the bimetal switch 123 will cool and open. If it is desired to prevent the oscillations of the vanes the shunt switch 125 will be closed thereby shunting the bimetal switch 123, the heater I27 and the hot wire 32. This will allow the hot wire 32 to cool and contract thereby returning it to its original position.

When the switch 125 is not closed, the heater 127 heats the bimetal 123 sufficiently to cause it to close and to shunt the bimetal heater 127 and the hot wire 32 to stop the flow of current through the hot wire 32 to cause it to contract and return the connecting bar 26 and the vanes 22 to their original clockwise position. The bimetal switch 123 will cool and reopen thereby beginning a new cycle. These cycles of periodic current flow through the hot wire 32and periodic shunting of the hot wire 32 will repeat as long as the circuit is energized by the switch 86 being in contact with either the contacts 85 or 87. This will cause continuous reciprocation of the connecting bar 26 and continuous oscillation of the vanes 22. The most rapid oscillation is obtained with the switch 121 to the left and the slowest oscillation is obtained with the switch 121 to the right. This system may be applied to various forms of air conditioners and also to various forms of air circulating and discharge devices.

In FIG. 3, the vanes 22 are similarly pivoted on the pivots 23 and pivotally connected by the pins 24 to the connecting bar 26. The projection 30 of the connecting bar is connected to the midpoint of a hot wire having sections 131 and 132 extending in opposite directions therefrom connected between the projection 30 and the anchoring terminals 134 and 136. In this form the hot wires 13] and 132 are alternately energized by the bimetal switch 223 having a contact 224 which alternately engages the contacts 234 and 236. The contact 236 is connected to a bimetal heater 227 located to heat the bimetal switch 223. This heater 227 has taps connected to it which are selectively contacted by a selector switch 221 connected to the conductor 228 connecting with the terminal anchorage 136. The contact 234 is connected to the terminal anchorage 134. The junction of the hot wires 131 and 132 is connected by a flexible conductor 130 to ajunction 221, The junction 221 is connected to the fan motor 78 and also through a control switch 129 when closed to the junction 220 which connects to the bimetal switch 223. The junction 220 also connects to the contact 187 adapted to be engaged by the selector switch 186 which is connected to the supply conductor 80.

This form can be applied to the air conditioner or air circulating devices in the same manner as the form shown in FIG. 1. The switch 223 when cool will go to the right to close the contacts 224 and 236. When the switch 129 is open, current will flow from the supply conductor through the switch 186 and the bimetal switch 223, through the closed contacts 224 and 236, the bimetal heater 227, the selector switch 221, the conductor 228, the hot wire 132, the flexible conductor 130 and the fan motor 78 to the supply conductor 82. This flow of current through the hot wire 132 will cause it to heat and lengthen thereby permitting the wire 131 to pull the bar 26 to the left. Also this flow of current through the heater 227 will heat the bimetal switch 223 so that after a period of time determined by the position of the selector switch 221, it will be heated sufficiently to cause it to move to the left to place the contact 224 into engagement with the contact 234. This will disconnect the hot wire 132 thereby allowing it to cool and contract and cause current to flow through the contacts 224 and 234 through the hot wire 131, the flexible conductor 130 and the fan motor 78 to the supply conductor 82. This will cause the hot wire 132 to cool and contract as the hot wire 131 is heated thereby causing the hot wire 131 to lengthen while the hot wire 132 contracts thereby pulling the connecting bar 26 to the right and pivoting the vanes 22 in counterclockwise rotation about their pivot pins 23.

While the contacts 224 and 234 are in engagement, the decnergizing of the heater 227 will allow the bimetal switch 228 to cool and eventually to return to cause the contacts 224 and 236 to reengage. This will stop the flow ofcurrent through the hot wire 131 and restore the current flow to the hot wire 132 causing it to lengthen while the hot wire 131 contracts thereby moving the connecting bar 26 to the left to move the vanes 22 in a clockwise direction about their pivot pins 23. The circuit repeats this alternate energization and deenergization of the hot wire sections 131 and 132 to cause oscillation of the vanes 22 to continuously oscillate the airflow in the manner of an oscillating fan. The rate of oscillation will be most rapid with the selector switch 221 in its counterclockwise position and slowest with the selector switch 221 in its clockwise position. The oscillation of the oscillating means can be stopped by closing the switch 129 which will shunt the hot wire sections 131 and 132 as well as the bimetal switch 223 and the heater 227.

Either of the forms of the invention will provide continuous oscillation of the vanes at selected rates with a very simple inexpensive reliable system requiring only a suitable form of hot wire and a single pole or double pole heated bimetal switch having a tapped heater and selector switch.

While the embodiments of the invention as herein disclosed constitute preferred forms, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted.

I claim:

1. In an air conditioner cooled air delivery including an evaporator discharge plenum having first and second pairs of opposed walls, vane means comprising a plurality of vanes individually pivoted between said first pair of walls of said plenum for directing the flow of the discharged cooled air,

connectingmeans in the form of a connecting bar extending between said second pair of walls having pivotal connections with each of said vanes for simultaneous rotation thereof, said bar having a projection adjacent its midpoint provided with a cylindrical anchoring post, a thermally expansible electrical resistance hot wire actuator looped about said anchoring post, said wire actuator having its free ends extending in a common direction substantially parallel with said bar, said wire actuator free ends anchored to one wall of said second pair of walls adjacent one end of said bar, tension spring means connected between the opposite wall of said second pair of walls and the other end of said bar, an electrical circuit connected in series circuit with said wire actuator for heating said wire such that the resultant expansion ofsaid wire permits said tension spring means to pull said bar toward the opposite wall of said second pair of walls thereby pivoting said vanes in a first direction, and timing switch means connected in series with said electrical circuit for periodically interrupting the heating of said wire actuator such that the resultant cooling and contraction thereof overcomes the force of said tension spring means to pull said bar toward said one wall thereby reversing the movement ofsaid bar and pivoting said vanes in a second direction.

2. The air conditioner of claim 1 wherein said timing switch means is a heated bimetal cycling switch having selective stations, said switch having its heater in series circuit with said wire actuator whereby an operator can position said switch station so as to vary the rate of oscillations of said vanes.

3. In an air conditioner cooled air delivery including an evaporator discharge plenum having first and second pairs of opposed walls, vane means comprising a plurality of vanes individually pivoted between said first pair of walls of said plenum for directing the flow of the discharged cooled air, connecting means in the form of a connecting bar extending between said second pair of walls having pivotal connections with each of said vanes for simultaneous rotation thereof, said bar having a projection adjacent its midpoint, a thermally expansible electrical resistance hot wire actuator having its midpoint connected to said projection providing substantially equal colinear first and second sections, said wire actuator having its sections extending in opposite directions in substantially parallel relation with said bar, said wire actuator sections having their free ends, respectively, anchored to opposed terminals on said second pair of walls, an electrical circuit including timing switch means connected with said wire actuator sections for alternately heating said first and second sections, the heating of said second section resulting in the lengthening thereof while said first section is allowed to cool and contract permitting said first section to pull said bar towards said first sections associated wall thereby pivoting said vanes in a first direction, and said timing switch means periodically interrupting the heating of said second section and heating said first section resulting in the lengthening thereof allowing said second section to cool and contract permitting said second section to pull said bar in a reverse direction toward said second sections associated wall thereby reversing the pivoting of said vanes in a second direction.

4. The air conditioner of claim 3 wherein said timing switch means is a heated bimetal cycling switch having selective stations, said switch having its heater in series circuit with said wire actuator whereby an operator can position said switch station so as to vary the rate of oscillations of said vanes. 

1. In an air conditioner cooled air delivery including an evaporator discharge plenum having first and second pairs of opposed walls, vane means comprising a plurality of vanes individually pivoted between said first pair of walls of said plenum for directing the flow of the discharged cooled air, connecting means in the form of a connecting bar extending between said second pair of walls having pivotal connections with each of said vanes for simultaneous rotation thereof, said bar having a projection adjacent its midpoint provided with a cylindrical anchoring post, a thermally expansible electrical resistance hot wire actuator looped about said anchoring post, said wire actuator having its free ends extending in a common direction substantially parallel with said bar, said wire actuator free ends anchored to one wall of said second pair of walls adjacent one end of said bar, tension spring means connected between the opposite wall of said second pair of walls and the other end of said bar, an electrical circuit connected in series circuit with said wire actuator for heating said wire such that the resultant expansion of said wire permits said tension spring means to pull said bar toward the opposite wall of said second pair of walls thereby pivoting said vanes in a first direction, and timing switch means connected in series with said electrical circuit for periodically interrupting the heating of said wire actuator such that the resultant cooling and contraction thereof overcomes the force of said tension spring means to pull said bar toward said one wall thereby reversing the movement of said bar and pivoting said vanes in a second direction.
 2. The air conditioner of claim 1 wherein said timing switch means is a heated bimetal cycling switch having selective stations, said switch having its heater in series circuit with said wire actuator whereby an operator can position said switch station so as to vary the rate of oscillations of said vanes.
 3. In an air conditioner cooled air delivery including an evaporator discharge plenum having first and second pairs of opposed walls, vane means comprising a plurality of vanes individually pivoted between said first pair of walls of said plenum for directing the flow of the discharged cooled air, connecting means in the form of a connecting bar extending between said second pair of walls having pivotal connections with each of said vanes for simultaneous rotation thereof, said bar having a projection adjacent its midpoint, a thermally expansible electrical resistance hot wire actuator having its midpoint connected to said projection providing substantially equal colinear first and second sections, said wire actuator having its sections extending in opposite directions in substantially paralLel relation with said bar, said wire actuator sections having their free ends, respectively, anchored to opposed terminals on said second pair of walls, an electrical circuit including timing switch means connected with said wire actuator sections for alternately heating said first and second sections, the heating of said second section resulting in the lengthening thereof while said first section is allowed to cool and contract permitting said first section to pull said bar towards said first section''s associated wall thereby pivoting said vanes in a first direction, and said timing switch means periodically interrupting the heating of said second section and heating said first section resulting in the lengthening thereof allowing said second section to cool and contract permitting said second section to pull said bar in a reverse direction toward said second section''s associated wall thereby reversing the pivoting of said vanes in a second direction.
 4. The air conditioner of claim 3 wherein said timing switch means is a heated bimetal cycling switch having selective stations, said switch having its heater in series circuit with said wire actuator whereby an operator can position said switch station so as to vary the rate of oscillations of said vanes. 